Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a proud and arrogant man who wanted to be the center of attention at all times

Louis XIV was the only known legitimate son of king Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. His mother had suffered through atleast 4 stillbirths which led contemporaries of the time to regard Louis XIV as a divine miracle gift from God, like the Sun which lights the way for us.

Louis also believed in absolute rule by the monarch, which at the time was being encroached upon by the many nobles all over France. Because of this, Louis attempted to keep these nobles as close as possible in order to watch over them, eventually building the palace of Versailles to keep them all around him. This is another reason he was called the Sun King; his nobles orbited around him, which was much different than kings before him.

Lastly, Louis XIV was called the Sun King for the simple fact he chose the sun as his symbol, one which is closely connected with the Greek god Apollo. Although this contributed to his nickname, it is unclear whether he chose the symbol before or after the nickname had already took on.